Second Thoughts on Forbes Article

Like most articles in the mainstream press about planned giving, attempts to create a catchy/interesting story end up doing a real chop job on the truth.

The Forbes article is no different.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/charitable-gift-annuity-crescendo-personal-finance-marketing.html

Basically, the accusation is that by using canned planned donor stories, you are guilty of making a "Dubious Annuity Pitch" or "Canned come-ons cite yields unavailable to most buyers."

Come on writers!!! The only crime or misdeed involved is shoddy marketing!!! It doesn't take a genius to figure out that real stories, with pictures of real donors, will go a lot further than some obviously canned stuff (spot-table a mile away).

But, as this article is in a major publication, we have to give it some due and think about the issue it is hitting on (however skewed and misapplied it is).

It actually reminds me about the Wall Street Journal article this past spring talking about how CGA programs are going under and how it was so bad for donors (when in reality, it was just one CGA program going under and the donors should have known better than to do a CGA with that so-called organization).

Why? That notorious Wall Street Journal article actually did hint to a larger problem of potentially faltering CGA programs due to investment losses (which seems to have turned around).

The Forbes article also hits on a topic often discussed in this blog: fodder for plaintiffs' attorneys. A good friend and attorney made this point to me as I complained about the article and on second thought, I agree.

The chances of a charity being sued over a CGA arrangement are low, very low. But, they aren't so low that it will never happen. Any marketing that your charity engages in while promoting CGA programs in particular can come back to haunt you. Attorneys representing disgruntled donors or family members will look at any means to challenge a gift, especially your own marketing efforts. Fraud in the inducement is pretty powerful. And, even if you can fight off that particular legal challenge, the attorney has just biased the judge or jury against your organization for being sleazy.

I am not trying to be overly nuts on this issue - go ahead and market planned gifts. The point is that as your institution proceeds into the public realm with various promotional materials, it is a good idea to think about whether you are stepping over boundaries that could later haunt you. I tell clients to stay away from using canned donor stories. I also tell anyone willing to listen to avoid use of investment terminology when promoting CGAs.

Have a great weekend and thanks for sticking with my blog!! (please forward stories to friends!)